Rundown: Qualifications, schedules of voter registration for 2023 Barangay, SK, future polls

December 5, 2022 - 6:41 PM
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Individuals queue for voter registration outside the Comelec office in Quezon City on Sept. 6, 2021. (The STAR/Boy Santos)

Voter registration is set to resume next Monday, December 12 in time for the 2023 village and youth elections. The registration period will run until Jan. 31, 2023.

Long-time former Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez tweeted this reminder on December 1.

Registered voters can officially cast their votes during the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and other future polls.

“Voter registration is set to run from December 12, 2022, until January 31, 2023. Now is your chance to join the #VoterNation and vote in the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections,” Jimenez tweeted.

Comelec’s official social media account also posted the same advisory on December 5.

The poll body said that eligible registrants can visit satellite registration sites and Offices of Election Officers to register.

“7 araw na lang bago muling magsimula ang voter registration!” the post reads.

In his tweet, Jimenez also advised soon-to-be voters to read Comelec’s latest resolution on the conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataang Elections—Comelec Resolution No. 10868.

According to the resolution, the qualifications to register for the barangay polls are as follows:

  • At least eighteen years old on or before the day of the Barangay Elections
  • A resident of the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein he/ she proposes to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections
  • Not otherwise disqualified by law

Those who seek to cast their vote for the SK shall meet the following qualifications:

  • At least fifteen but not more than thirty years of age and residing in the barangay for at least six months on or before Sangguniang Kabataan Elections
  • Not otherwise disqualified by law

The schedule of voter registration is from December 12 to Jan. 31, 2023, Monday to Saturday, during office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Offices of Election Officers shall also accept applicants during holidays, except on December 24 and 31.

Applicant voters may also register in the following venues that are designated Comelec satellite registration sites:

  • Barangay halls/centers
  • Public and private schools and universities
  • Malls and commercial establishments
  • Other public and convenient places

Election officers, meanwhile, shall ensure a gender-sensitive and culture-sensitive registration process as stated in Section 2.

“In the conduct of registration, the Election Officers (EOs) shall ensure full access to registration processes of women who care for small children and encourage the local government units through the local Gender and Development Focal Point System (GFPS) Office, to open their Day Care Centers during registration days, at no cost to the Commission,” the provision stated.

“Cultural practices and ethnic traditions in certain areas must be respected and taken into consideration, in the encoding of demographics and taking of biometrics data, especially involving women registrants,” the provision added.

The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) were supposed to be held in December this year.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., however, last October signed a law that postponed the polls to October 2023.

Subsequent BSKE shall be held every three years after.